Two Jersey City street gang members have been charged with conspiring to sell cocaine and heroin, with one also facing weapons charges, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Anthony Phillips, also known as “Ant” and “Little Ant,” 31, of Jersey City, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court on June 6th and was detained, Sellinger said in a statement.
Phillips was charged by complaint on April 30th with conspiring with Shannon Tisdale, aka “Doonk,” 32, of Jersey City, to distribute heroin and cocaine.
Phillips was also charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter on June 11th, 2015, in Hudson County Superior Court in connection with shooting and killing an individual in Jersey City.
As a result, Phillips was sentenced to 13 years in prison and he was released from the Department of Corrections under parole supervision on March 14th, 2024.
Tisdale appeared before U.S. Magistrate Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court on May 17th and was detained.
In December 2023, law enforcement began investigating individuals distributing narcotics in the area of Lexington and Bergen Avenues in Jersey City, including members and associates of “Lex Mob,” a neighborhood street gang.
On April 24th, 2024, law enforcement observed Tisdale and Phillips distributing controlled substances in the Lexington Area. Law enforcement attempted to arrest Tisdale and Phillips, who both initially ran when law enforcement approached them.
During the pursuit of Phillips, law enforcement observed Phillips remove and discard a firearm. Immediately after discarding the firearm, Phillips was apprehended.
During a search of Phillips’s person, law enforcement recovered 12 orange containers of suspected cocaine and 13 orange glassine bags of suspected heroin.
Law enforcement recovered the firearm that Phillips had discarded, which was loaded with eight rounds of ammunition.
On the count of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, Phillips faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
On the count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Phillips faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years, which must run consecutively to any other prison sentenced imposed.
Finally, on the count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances crime, Phillips and Tisdale each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti, and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI).
The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City.
